New Zealand’s great . . . from a pink limo
SINCE we moved to Cornwall about 18 months ago, a strange thing has happened. We don’t feel we need a holiday because we’re permanently on one.
We have the views and the beaches, and when the weather is nice, I don’t think there is anywhere better.
Yes, it can get crowded during summer and when the schools are on holiday. But we just let the tourists have it then and we enjoy it when they’ve gone.
The place that has really captured my heart, though, is New Zealand. So much so I used it for my first book.
I first went back in 1993 and it was an arrival I’ll never forget. When I got to the airport I noticed a big 1950s, bright pink limo parked and joked to my family who were meeting me that they needn’t have gone to the trouble – only to discover they had!
It was brilliant to see the sights of the North Island in such style.
One of those that definitely sticks in my mind is the Sky Tower in Auckland Harbour.
It’s the tallest freestanding structure in the Southern Hemisphere and people bungee jump off of it.
There’s a viewing platform where they pause momentarily before they are plummeted towards the ground. Their faces are quite a picture.
Going to New Zealand, then anyway, was a bit like stepping back to a bit of a more peaceful time.
People were so friendly and, as they didn’t hear a lot of British accents, curious and keen to talk and find out where you were from.
I also got my first experience of sea fishing there on one of my numerous other trips. It was Boxing Day 2006 and I caught so many different types of fish through sheer beginner’s luck.
When Anthony and I got married we went to Mauritius for our honeymoon.
It’s a gorgeous island and the place we were staying was a stunning five-star resort.
But we took a tour of the island and when we saw some of the poverty, we felt so guilty for the rest of our stay about living in such luxury.